Protests against Morsi Beginning on June 30, 2013,
anti-government protests in
Egypt were organized nationwide against President
Mohamed Morsi, demanding his resignation and consequent early presidential elections. Key participants were the
Tamarod movement,
April 6 Youth Movement and the
Al-Wafd party, in addition to numerous unaffiliated protesters, who were mostly
secularists. One of the main causes of the protests, and of the earlier
2012 Egyptian protests, was Morsi granting himself executive powers over courts, which protesters alleged would make him increasingly authoritarian over time. Morsi, being to this date in power for almost one year, refused to resign, insisting that his presidency is "legitimate," having won the
Egyptian presidential election of 2012, which was considered to be free and fair. Days before opposition protests, pro-Morsi protesters organized counter-demonstrations to celebrate his one-year anniversary in office, wanting him to remain in office until his term had finished. On July 1, a 48-hour deadline was issued to Morsi, demanding that he respond to the protesters' demands. Morsi refused to do so. On July 3, which was when the deadline ended, Morsi was removed from offices. However, the dispersal resulted in violent clashes, which led to deaths among both sides.
Al-Masry Al-Youm alleged that the protesters at Rabaa owned dangerous weapons. On the other hand,
Human Rights Watch claimed that only firearms were observed, rather rarely, and that the protesters were ″overwhelmingly peaceful to be attacked in such a disproportionate and premeditated lethal way." The official death toll, according to the
Egyptian Health Ministry, was 638 deaths, of which 595 were protesters, and 3,994 injured, in addition to 43 police officers dead. However, the
Muslim Brotherhood, along with affiliated organizations, such as the
Anti-Coup Alliance and the
National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy claimed that 2,600 protesters were killed. In the wake of the dispersal, violence occurred across Egypt, as retaliation against the security forces who dispersed the sit-ins. Furthermore, many corpses remained unidentified as they bore gunshot wounds and were charred beyond recognition. In the 2014 report,
Human Rights Watch said at least 1,150 demonstrators were killed in the dispersal, which, the organization said, probably amounts to "
crimes against humanity." ==Appearance of the sign==